贫而无谄章

论语 > 学而篇

原文

子贡曰：“贫而无谄，富而无骄，何如？”子曰：“可也。未若贫而乐，富而好礼者也。”子贡曰：“诗云，‘如切如磋，如琢如磨’，其斯之谓与？”子曰：“赐也！始可与言诗已矣。告诸往而知来者。”

英译

Tzu Kung asked, "What if one stays in poverty without flattery, or in prosperity without conceit?" Confucius replied, "Acceptable. But not as good as staying in poverty with content, and in prosperity with courtesy." Tzu Kung followed, "As is quoted from the Poetry, 'as from the knife and the file, as from the chisel and the polisher', doesn't it express exactly what you mentioned just now?" Confucius replied, "T'su, we can initiate the discussions on the Poetry from now on, since you can tell the followings after hearing about the origins."